What is a muscle car
Everything I read said the origin of the term "Pony Car" is named after the Ford Mustang, the first car of this type... is this correct?
From Wiki:
The 1964 Mustang provided the template for the new class of automobiles.[7][8] The term itself "was coined by Dennis Shattuck, who was editor of Car Life magazine" at the time.[9] The term "originates from the equestrian sounding Ford Mustang",[2] and may also refer to the Ford Mustang's logo (a galloping pony).
Although the Mustang was based on the platform of the Falcon, it had a unique body (offered as a hardtop coupé and a convertible) with distinctive, "long hood, short deck" proportions. In basic form it was mechanically mundane, with a 170 cu in (2.8 L) six-cylinder engine coupled to a three-speed manual transmission. It carried an attractive base price of US$2,368 that included bucket seats, carpeting, floor shifter, sport steering wheel, and full wheel covers. The Mustang also had an extensive option list offering a range of V8 engines, Cruise-O-Matic automatic transmission or four-speed manual gearbox, radios, air conditioning, power steering, and other accessories.[10] A V8 Mustang with all available options would cost about 60% more than a basic model with a six-cylinder engine, which made it an extremely profitable model for Ford.[11]
The requirements for these two-door, four passenger capacity models were therefore set:[12][13]
Stylish and sporty styling that included "long hoods, short decks, and open mouths"
Assembled from "off-the-shelf" mass production components
Affordable base price (under $2,500 in 1965 dollar value)
Wide range of options to individualize each car
Youth-oriented marketing and advertising.
While most of the pony cars offered more powerful engines and performance packages, enough to qualify some into muscle car territory, a substantial number were sold with six-cylinder engines or ordinary V8s.[14] For the most part, the high-performance models saw limited sales and were largely limited to drag racing, road racing, or racing homologation purposes.